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31 May 2014

ECOWAS says it has no intention of sending troops to Nigeria to fight Boko Haram.

ECOWAS Chairman, President John Dramani Mahama, who made this known at a
press conference at the end of the one-day extraordinary session in
Accra yesterday, said already, the Nigeria President Goodluck Jonathan
had assured his colleagues in the sub-regional group that he was "doing
everything possible" to resolve the burning issue.

Mr Mahama gave the assurance that ECOWAS would support him in that
respect. He would not come out to explain whether the “everything
possible" the Nigeria leader said included armed offensive.

He, however, said armed attacks were not on the cards of ECOWAS. He
said terrorism was a very dangerous issue that West African leaders were
ever ready to work towards eliminating.

Mr Mahama said West African leaders also raised the need for a common
rapid response unit to deal with emergency situations. In the communique
issued at the end of the meeting, the leaders welcomed the measures
adopted by the Nigerian government to end the insurgency by Boko Haram.

The summit also urged the government to pursue national dialogue and
reconciliation. It commended international partners such as France and
United Kingdom (UK) for the support they had given so far towards
resolving the Nigerian issue.

On Mali, the communique appealed to the UN Security Council to consider
imposing sanctions against armed groups that impeded peace.

It also urged the Malian government to constitute the truth,
reconciliation and justice commission to expedite the process of
national reconciliation.